Psalms 149:2

149:2 Let Israel rejoice in their Creator!

Let the people 1  of Zion delight in their king! 2 

Psalms 149:5-9

149:5 Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication! 3 

Let them shout for joy upon their beds! 4 

149:6 May they praise God

while they hold a two-edged sword in their hand, 5 

149:7 in order to take 6  revenge on the nations,

and punish foreigners.

149:8 They bind 7  their kings in chains,

and their nobles in iron shackles,

149:9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies 8  have been sentenced. 9 

All his loyal followers will be vindicated. 10 

Praise the Lord!

1 tn Heb “sons.”

2 sn The Lord is the king here, as the parallelism in the previous line (“their creator”) indicates.

3 tn Heb “in glory.” Here “glory” probably refers to the “honor” that belongs to the Lord’s people as a result of their deliverance (see v. 4).

4 tn The significance of the reference to “beds” is unclear. Perhaps the point is that they should rejoice at all times, even when falling asleep or awaking.

5 tn Heb “[May] praises of God [be] in their throat, and a two-edged sword in their hand.”

6 tn Heb “to do.”

7 tn Heb “to bind.”

8 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the enemies of the people of God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

9 tn Heb “to do against them judgment [that] is written.”

10 tn Heb “it is honor for all his godly ones.” The judgment of the oppressive kings will bring vindication and honor to God’s people (see vv. 4-5).